Ross Pearson says DUI charge was dropped prior to UFC on FX 6 camp

Ross Pearson’s training camp for George Sotiropoulos began with happy news: His DUI charge had been dropped.

The coach on the recently concluded “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Australia vs. Team U.K.” told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that a call to UFC President Dana White steered him away from the wrong side of the law.

“He handled it,” Pearson said.

Pearson denies drinking the night of his arrest, which came the morning of April 29 after Las Vegas police reportedly stopped him for driving erratically. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Pearson badly failed a sobriety test and was booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. At the time the fighter was serving as an assistant coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 15.”

“I didn’t get a breathalyzer,” he said. “There was no record of me being drunk, when I wasn’t drunk. I’d been at a nightclub, out celebrating with the team.

“But I wasn’t drinking. I was getting ready for a fight.”

The arrest didn’t stop Pearson from meeting Cub Swanson in June at UFC on FX 4, though he lost the fight by second-round TKO. One month later he accepted a coaching spot on “TUF,” which was later dubbed “TUF: Smashes.”

Pearson (14-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC) knocked out opposing coach Sotiropoulos (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at lightweight in the reality show’s finale, which took place at UFC on FX 6 earlier this month.

Soon after Pearson’s arrest, White expressed support for the fighter.

“I talked to him on the phone the day that he got out, and we’re going to help him through it,” White said then. “He’s got 50 guys out there that he’s training with that he could have called. He’s got money; he could have taken a taxi. It’s just one of those bad choices you make at that moment.”

The Clark County District Attorney’s office, which handles criminal cases in Las Vegas, could not be reached to verify the status of Pearson’s case. Pearson believes the charge was dropped on Sept. 8.

Pearson faced up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines if convicted for DUI.